Powers
There's one important respect in which the world of Sryth is different from our own (other than the existence of trolls, giants and such). Magic!. Some talented individuals can draw energy from the Neverness realm to perform various tasks, from hurling fireballs to curing wounds. Magic has more than combat use in Sryth, you may be able to heal wounds and diseases, move objects with your thoughts or create useful items at will. You can have a look at your powers anytime by clicking the "Powers" button in the right hand pane. Much like skills, this will present you with a list of what powers you have, their levels, and how much experience it will take to advance them to the next level. Unlike skills though, all the spheres relate to the same stats, Mind, Aura and Spirit, so if you've scored badly in those areas you'll have significantly more trouble leveling up any of them. Also, whereas you can use skills as many times as you want, each use of a power costs you one point of Nevernal Reserve, and once you run out you'll no longer be able to use any power, in or out of combat, till you rest. Magic Spheres The powers of Srythian mages are divided into eleven different spheres of Nevernal energy, each with a variety of uses. Ten of them are the basic powers, and the eleventh one is Shadow Magic, a rare and not widely known branch of arcana. * Conjuration * Destruction * Divination * Elementalism * Fortification * Gating * Illusion * Necromancy * Restoration * Shadow Magic * Telekinesis You can have a level between 1-100 for each sphere, like skills. Leveling each sphere will lower your chance of "fizzling" (failing and wasting a NV point) in or out of combat. Also, every ten levels the sphere's effect will change to a stronger one. A level 1 Elementalist might only be able to hurl a stone at an enemy, but on reaching level 10 his/her enemies will find themselves lashed with a scalding shower of burning mud. Power Checks Power checks come up about as often as stat checks or skill checks. Like the other sorts of checks, you'll come up against these in various situations during the game whenever your character might need a certain power to accomplish a certain task. As with skill checks, you might need a certain degree of mastery in a given power to attempt the course of action. Also, the text of every power check will read: "1 NV required" meaning that if you've used up all your Nevernal reserve, you can't make an attempt to use that power. Since the power check doesn't require you to roll under a number, we can't be sure how the game tracks your success or failure, but it's certainly true that the higher your mastery of a given power, the less you'll find yourself failing. As with skill and stat checks, the consequences of succeeding or failing a power check depend entirely upon the situation. Powers in Combat Except for Restoration, all powers have two options during combat: an "instant" power and a "sustained" power. Both powers cost 1 NV to use. If you select the base power (Necromancy, for instance), it will always default to the instant power (Wraith Touch, as opposed to Summon Undead). Instant Power The instant power only lasts for the current round. It will be the more potent of the two - for instance, a hefty bonus to MR or a large damage effect. Restoration is an instant power, healing a certain amount of SP each time you cast it. Sustained Power The sustained power lasts at least two rounds, and at high levels it can last many more. The effects are generally more subtle than instant powers, but depending on the situation can be even more helpful. For instance, Conjuration's Entangle power will prevent a foe from attacking, allowing you to flee safely. Beware! Using any other powers will cancel your sustained power. How to gain more powers You can get powers in the following ways: * Start with one - if your Stats don't let you start with one (requires at least Aura 13, Mind 12 and Spirit 10), the only two ways to get Powers are: ** Increasing your stats above the threshold. ** Getting Shadow Magic from Proving Grounds V - The Silver Crest. That adjusts the stats threshold to the minimum required. * Can get Necromancy from "The Wandering Undead" (one of the Startup Scenarios) * Can get Elementalism from the Daggerspire quest * Can get a chosen power from Ethulle in the Murk quest. * Can get a random power in the second Murk quest, . * Can get a random power from the from the Stoneback Hill adventure - although this item has better uses. * Can buy powers from the Grey Circle after completing the Stoneback Hill. New powers cost # of Powers)-1*1024 XP to learn, and come at rank 10. They will not teach Necromancy or Shadow Magic, however. * Can buy powers at the Adventurers' Collective (except Shadow Magic) for X gold and 2 AT each, where X is 5000 multiplied by the number of Powers you already have (so if you have 2 Powers it'll cost 10,000 gold for a new one; if you have 8 it'll be 40,000 gold). * Can get Shadow Magic either from a set of 3 runestones at the end of the Runeskin first saga in Silverwysp or from the Proving Grounds V - The Silver Crest. Currently these are the ONLY ways to get Shadow Magic. You can train any Powers you already have (except Necromancy and Shadow Magic) at the Grey Circle for a 10% discount on experience cost. Destruction can be trained up to level 50, Elementalism and Fortification can be trained up to level 70, and all other powers can be trained up to level 60. None of these methods can be used if your related stats are below the threshold, except the one for PG V Magic Resistance While most of the time you can use your Powers in combat without worry, there are some exceptions. Some of the opponents you'll meet can resist magic. If your enemy manages to resist the use of your Power, you'll be told about it. The message is: You still use 1 point of Nevernal Reserve even if your enemy manages to resist. Some opponents are more resistant than others. Usually the only way to know for sure is by fighting them. Only Destruction, Divination and Telekinesis can be resisted. Restoration, Fortification and Shadow Magic cannot be resisted as they do not directly affect your enemy. Elementalism, Gating, Necromancy, Illusion cannot be resisted because these powers summon creatures to attack your enemy. You can see expanded info here. Anti-Magic Auras Some enemies have a more aggressive means of avoiding damage from your Powers. This ability, the Anti-Magic Aura, prevents nearby foes (you) from using any Powers in combat (no exceptions). Warning: You still are able to access your Powers list, and thus waste a point of NV! For the sake of simplification, Anti-Magic Auras, when noted, will be classified one of two ways: * Anti-Magic Aura (Overwhelming) - this version always prevents the use of any Powers for the entire combat. * Anti-Magic Aura (Moderate) - this version may prevent the use of any Power for a single round of combat. The chance of it preventing Power use varies for different beings. It only works for one round, but it also has a chance of activating again the next round. For most monsters possessing this aura, such as Oakaruk and some strong enemies, it is Moderate. For some extremely rare (or unique) foes, it is Overwhelming. When a monster's aura (either version) has stopped you from using a Power, you will see a message similar to the following: Your attempt to channel your magic has failed due to a powerful anti-magic aura surrounding your enemy. Tip: This aura, though powerful, does not extend to the permanent magic in items. Therefore, magical items still function normally—this includes not only weapons and armor with magical bonuses, but also miscellaneous items. Power levels As your proficiency in a power increases, the associated text description also varies: Experience Cost The cost varies depending on your XP Bonus, which can be up to +30%, in intervals of 5%. With an XP Bonus of 0%, the following table applies: If you want to know how much EXP you need for a given level, taking your % EXP Bonus to your Powers into account, visit the XP Calculator or calculate it with the XP Bonus formulas. Category:Game Concepts Category:Indexes